My all time favorite Thai dish, Som Tam Mamuang or Thai Green Mango Salad. This dish is sweet and sour, usually made with fish sauce but with my magic powers I veganized it. Just kidding, all I did was switch out the stinky fish sauce for delicious tamarind paste.
Traditionally, this salad is made with a mortar and pestle. Thais refer to it as 'pok pok' because of the sound it makes when the pestle hits the mortar. They aggressively smash all the ingredients together, scraping the sides to extract all the flavors from each ingredient. The more common Som Tam is made with green papaya, exact same ingredients but substitute the mango for an unripe green papaya. I just prefer the mango.
Ingredients
1 medium green mango, shredded
2 long string beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup carrots, shredded
1 tomato, cubed
2 small Thai red chilis, diced
1 small shallot, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp coconut sugar, or more for a sweeter taste
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 lime, juiced
1/4 cup unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Prepare all ingredients... Shred, cut, dice, slice... do what you've got to do. Combine all ingredients, yes ALL the ingredients, even the delicate tomato. Place in a large bowl (or if you have a massive mortar and pestle lying around...), using a fork, spoon or potato masher, start to mix and smash all ingredients together. Use some elbow grease for about 5 minutes and aggressively combine until the sugar has melted and all ingredients are dispersed evenly. For better flavor, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Papaya Salad
